As Titans await test results, Young's demeanor up for discussion

The Titans are still awaiting test results on Vince Young's left knee, Jeff Fisher said at his press conference this afternoon.

Based on how uncomfortable Young looked last night as he was carted to his car carrying crutches, wearing a bulky brace and being driven away by a friend, it seems likely Young will miss some action. But we'll have to wait a bit to find out any official details and to learn more about the timetable. If the injury was going to threaten Young's season, Fisher said the team would have gotten a sense of that Sunday night.

Fisher again emphasized that the primary factor in a debate about whether Young was reluctant to return to the field with the offense in the fourth quarter was over hamstring tightness, but he did concede that Young's sideline demeanor when things go poorly needs an adjustment. Young hung his head and sulked after he threw his second interception. And if his hamstring was the issue, it was curious he wasn't consulting with trainers or stretching at the time in question.

With just under 6 minutes remaining in Sunday's 17-10 win over Jacksonville, Young was late getting on the field. To many it appeared he might have been trying to take himself out of the game. His behavior is Topic 1-A in Nashville, with people wondering if he was considering quitting on his teammates.

We can't be in his head and he has not spoken. I don't have any formal education in interpreting body language. Young gets the benefit of the doubt, but the way he comported himself dents it at least a little.

Here are the significant pieces of Fisher's comments today:

You saw Vince sitting on the bench with a towel on his head, obviously he wasn't happy with the interception. But that was not part of the issue, the issue was just communication between myself and he and the trainers and coaches regarding whether his hamstring was tightening up or not. Vince's demeanor on the sideline after a negative play, it's different, yeah. You're not used to seeing that. It's his way of coping with putting something behind him. He'd rather be by himself and put something like that behind him. But it wasn't the demeanor on the sideline that led to the confusion...

I had an offensive group on the field and the referee is getting ready to wind the play clock and had a quarterback on the sideline., So if I appeared upset, it was because I wanted to get the quarterback on the field so we could go. That's the long of it. I think we're making an awful lot out of the fact that there was some communication on the sideline. I think the bigger issue right now is his knee, I'd be more concerned about his knee than what happened yesterday...

Yes, he definitely needs to work through some things. There is no doubt about that. This is not the first time he's been frustrated or he's shown frustration outwardly on the sideline. But he tends to bounce back. He was not happy after the first interception and he clearly should not have thrown that ball. He made that decision, he understood it, he processed it, he came back two series later and led us on the touchdown drive. So he deals with it...

I think [his teammates] understand him. He shows frustration at times on the practice field. He's very competitive. He's not used to losing. He's got a tremendous sense of pride and he doesn't like making mistakes. I think as a young quarterback you learn from these experiences and you move on. I don't want to necessarily see the other side of it where you see this false chatter and this false enthusiasm on the sideline either. I think he processes things and he bounces back.
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Two Titans captains, center Kevin Mawae and linebacker Keith Bulluck, also took on the topic and also suggested Young should, and would, improve his sideline demeanor in tough times. Mawae remembered a game when he struggled to get his hands on Junior Seau and he let it show on the sideline that he was frustrated. He wound up apologizing to Warren Moon over his poor play.

As a quarterback it's got to be hard, it's got to play on your psyche if your hometown is booing you or whatever it's got to be frustrating. But again, you've got to learn how to block all of that out. Because it's not about you and 65,000 fans, it's about you and the 10 other guys on the field. It's a process, you've got to learn how to deal with it...
You've got to learn how to deal with the adversity that comes in this league and that's part of his growing process. We've talked about how he's matured over the years with respect to our offense and our game planning and the quarterbacks coach and all that kind of stuff. That's the football side of it. Now the personal side of it is you've got to learn how to be a football player on the field, whether it's good or it's bad, deal with it and move on...
I think Vince knows he has the backing of every guy on this team and every guy in the huddle and on the offense. But at some point in time it's got to come to that individual person to know that he's got a job to do, just like everybody else.

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Keith Bulluck said he expects Young's family will ultimately be a big influence in the sideline demeanor department:

I'm not too concerned. I feel that's something he has to iron out, that's something he'll have to handle himself. As a team we're moving forward. We had a great victory yesterday...

When I was a younger player, I used to throw my helmet and all that stuff. But it's different as a defensive player. When you play quarterback, I think it's like almost the weight of the world can be on your shoulders at times. It can send the wrong message, and him going into his third year, he'll learn. He'll see himself. Probably he hears it from his family in the stands. That's where I used to hear it. As a person you don't want to give out that off, so I am sure that's something he has to work on - he's an emotional player, whether it's a good play he'll show his emotions, or whether it's a bad play or a bad series he shows his emotions the same way. He'll work on that I am sure. These are all things you'll have to ask Vince.
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Young has broken a major public relations rule, extending the story's shelf life by declining to talk. Those things Bulluck said we'll have to ask him, we won't get to ask until Wednesday.

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